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WTWA (1240 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Thomson, Georgia, and broadcasting to the Augusta metropolitan area. It airs an oldies radio format and is owned by Camellia City Communications, Inc. The studios and offices are on Cedar Rock Road in Thomson. Most songs were hits in the 1960s and 70s. Weekdays at 12:40 and 5:40 p.m., WTWA hosts a swap shop program.

WTWA is powered at 600 watts non-directional. Programming is also heard on 250-watt FM translator W285EP at 104.9 MHz.

History

WTWA signed on the air on January 10, 1948; 76 years ago (January 10, 1948). The WTWA call sign was chosen for the communities served by the station, standing for "Washington-Thomson-Warrenton-Area". It was built and co-owned by Walter J. Brown of Spartanburg, South Carolina. Brown owned and operated WORD 950 AM there. Brown's partner and general manager in WTWA was Edgar J. Kobak, former president of the Mutual Broadcasting System. WTWA was a Mutual network affiliate from the day it signed on until the network went silent.

When WTWA debuted, Thomson, Georgia. was the smallest American town in population size to have a radio station. Broadcasting magazine described WTWA as "an experiment in small-station operation which may indicate whether local stations can survive in county seats of about 5,000 population." Brown sold his interest in WTWA to Kobak in 1950.

In 1953, Kobak bought the local McDuffie Progress newspaper, combined it with the radio station and promoted Frank Hash, the editor of the newspaper, to be WTWA's manager. Hash then bought the newspaper and radio station in 1957. In 1962, Gene Harden, WTWA's longtime manager, bought the station from Hash.

In an unusual turn of events, Harden sold WTWA to its founder, Walter Brown, in 1977. Brown, by then longtime owner of WSPA-AM/FM/TV in Spartanburg, had returned to radio ownership in Thomson, building WTHO-AM/FM in 1972. WTHO-AM was a daytime-only station at 1530 on the dial, inferior to WTWA's 1,000 full-time facility at 1240. Upon his purchase of WTWA, Brown sent the 1530 license to the FCC for cancellation, and transferred some of its programming to WTWA.

The station has produced such local programming as 1st National Bank News, with newscaster Lee Shepard, in 1948. Alumni of the station include veteran broadcaster Gary Bryan, later at WHTZ New York City and KRTH Los Angeles. Bryan started at WTWA when he was only 17 years old.

Translators

In addition to the main station, WTWA is relayed by an additional translator to widen its broadcast area.

References

1. "Facility Technical Data for WTWA". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
2. Radio-Locator.com/WTWA
3. Radio-Locator.com/W285EP
4. "Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.
5. "Small-Station Experiment" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 19, 1948. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
6. Sies, Luther F. (2000). Encyclopedia of American Radio 1920-1960. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0452-3.

External links

• Facility details for Facility ID 8476 (WTWA) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• WTWA in Nielsen Audio's AM station database

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• Radio stations in Georgia (U.S. state)
• Oldies radio stations in the United States
• Nostalgia radio in the United States
• Radio stations established in 1948
• Georgia (U.S. state) radio station stubs